Samsung joins humanoid robot race with higher stake in Rainbow Robotics

Samsung Electronics Co. has become the largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics Co., a South Korean collaborative robot maker, as the tech giant spends heavily on the robot business – one of its growth drivers.

Samsung said on Tuesday its stake in Rainbow Robotics has risen to 35% by exercising the call option it obtained in March 2023. With the increased stake, Rainbow will now become a Samsung subsidiary.

In January of last year, Samsung acquired 10.2% of Rainbow Robotics, a Kosdaq-listed company, for 59 billion won ($40 million), marking the tech giant’s first investment in a domestic collaborative robot maker.

Samsung purchased more shares in the robotics firm in March 2023, raising its stake in Rainbow to 14.99%. At the time, it also signed a call option contract, allowing it to buy stakes held by Rainbow’s largest shareholder and relevant parties first if they put their holdings up for sale.

Collaborative robots are intended for direct human-robot interaction within a shared space, or where humans and robots are nearby. Those robots are getting more advanced with artificial intelligence and big data.

Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 as the humanoid robot research center of the Korea Advanced Institution of Science and Technology (KAIST), one of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Rainbow is also developing products such as quadruped walking robots, bipedal platforms and autonomous mobile robots with Hyundai Rotem Co., a unit of Hyundai Motor Co.

TO ACCELERATE FUTURE ROBOT DEVELOPMENT

Through collaboration with Rainbow Robotics, Samsung aims to strengthen its foundation in the development of advanced robot technology.

By combining its AI and software technology with Rainbow Robotics’ robotics technology, which created Korea’s first bipedal robot Hubo, Samsung expects to accelerate the development of intelligent advanced humanoids.

Samsung said it will also set up a council with Rainbow Robotics to create synergy in their robotics business and identify new market trends in Korea and abroad.

Through their collaboration, Samsung plans to utilize Rainbow Robotics’ collaborative robots, dual-arm mobile manipulators and autonomous mobile robots for manufacturing and logistics automation tasks at its plants.

SAMSUNG TO SET UP FUTURE ROBOTICS OFFICE

Samsung said it will launch the Future Robotics Office, with its chief directly reporting to the CEO.

The office will be tasked with developing future robots including humanoid robots, aiming to secure competitiveness in new technologies for future robots.

Oh Jun-ho, a founding member of Rainbow Robotics and an honorary professor at KAIST, will serve as a Samsung advisor and head of the Future Robotics Office after retiring from Rainbow Robotics.

Samsung’s latest move builds on Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Han Jong-hee’s aggressive drive to foster robotics as one of its key businesses to drive future growth. The company established a robotics business team in 2022.

Korea’s other major conglomerate, Hyundai Motor Group, is also actively pursuing the robotics business, with its acquisition in 2020 of US robotics firm Boston Dynamics Inc. from SoftBank Group.

In October, Hyundai Motor and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. said they are teaming up via their affiliates to accelerate the development of humanoid robots with artificial intelligence.

Write to In-Soo Nam at [email protected]
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.